Lubricating composition



Cal

Patented June 4, 1929.

UNH'ED STA TEs PArENroFFlcs;

GEORGE w. GRAY, on NEW YoRK, N. Y., AssxGNoR TO THE TEXAS ooMrANY, OF NEW YoRK, N. Y., A ooRroRA'rIoN or DELAWARE.

LUBBICATING COMPOSITION.

No Drawing. Application filed June 8,

This invention relates to lubricating com- ;ositions and more particularly to lubricants suitable for application to the rails of curved sections of railway tracks.

The steel rails of railway tracks are subject to a great deal of wear upon, the curved sections thereof due to the action of the flanged wheels of the rolling equipment of the road, such as locomotives, cars, and the like. Some of this wear upon the curved rail sections is no doubt caused by the bearing of the flanged wheels against the rails in directing the trains around curves and a part of the wear may also be caused by the dragging effect of the wheels while rounding a curve due to the lack of a differential action between the opposite wheels mounted upon the same axle. The lubrication of such curved sections of rails has heretofore been unsatisfactory because of the fact that a suitable lubricating composition has not been available. Ordinarily, lubricating oils do not adhere closely to the rail sections and must therefore be applied in large quantities. As a result the expense attendant to properly lubricating curved rail sections with such material may be greater than the actual saving in wear upon the rail sections.

I have discovered that by the proper compounding of hydrocarbon oils a lubricating composition may be produced which has unusal properties which make it highly suitable for the lubrication of the curved sections of railway rails. The desired properties in the improved rail curve lubricant are obtained by incorporating therein materials which are not only efiective lubricants but which also have properties which insure the adhesion of the lubricant to the rails. y

In its preferred form my invention comprises a mixture of a hydrocarbon lubricating oil, which may be derived from a paraflin base crude petroleum, and a heavy viscous residual oil derived from an asphalt or a naphthene base crude petroleum. The naphthene base residual oil used in such a mixture will consist of the residuum obtained from the distillation of a portion of the crude petroleum, preferably under such conditions as to avoid any substantial decomposition of the oil, the distillation being carried on until the residuum has been reduced to a density corresponding toabout 1927. Serial No. 197,519.

12 to 15 Beaum. Such a residual oil will be black in color, will have'a viscosity of approximately 900 to 1000 seconds at 210 7 F. (Saybolt universal), is quite sticky, and

when mixed with an oil having desirable lubricating properties, supplies the adhesive 7 properties necessary in a material suitable for lubricating the curved sections of railway rails. It will be understood, of course, that the naphthene base residual oil is notin itself devoid of lubricating qualities but in this particular composition its adhesive qualities are probably of more value than its lubricating properties.

The portion of the composition or mixture which is essentially a lubricant may consist of any good lubricating oil having sufiicient viscosity or body for the purpose, but I prefer to use for this material an oil of the type usually known as cylinder stock residuum. Such an oil is a residual product (lellVGCl. from the distillation of a paraffin or semi-paraffin base crude petroleum,the

distillation being carried on without substantial decomposition of the oil. The prop erties of cylinder stock residuum vary somewhat depending upon the degree to which the distillation of the crude material is carried on and also upon the original crude petroleum, but a representative cylinder stock residuum may have a viscosity of approximately 200 seconds at 210 (Saybolt universal) and a flash point of about 525 F.

The proportions of the constituents used in the manufacture of the rail curve lubricant will vary somewhat with the actual physical properties of the individual oils but will in general be controlled by the viscosity desired in the final product. It has been found from experience that a rail curve lubricant having a viscosity of about 540 seconds at 122 F. (Saybolt furol) is very satisfactory for application to the rails and for service at normal temperatures. However, for use under extreme conditions of heat or cold it may be found advantageous to increase or decrease the viscosity and adhesiveness of the material as desired, this being accomplished by increasing or decreas ing the proportion of the residual naphthene base oil. In the case of the materials, the properties of which have been described in the preceding paragraphs for the purpose of illustration, it has been found that a mixture of approximately 602% of the cylinder stock residuum and 40% of the naphthene base residual oil Will have a viscosity in the neighborhood of 550 seconds at 122 F. (Saybolt furol) and such a mixture is a very superior composition for use in lubricating the rails of the curved sections of railway tracks.

What I claim is:

1. A lubricating composition suitable for the lubrication of the rails of the curved sections of railway tracks which comprises a mixture of residual oils derived from both paraffin and asphalt base crude petroleums, the viscosity of the mixture being about 500 to 600 seconds aa 122 F. (Saybolt furol).

'2. A lubricating composition suitable for the lubrication of the, rails of the curved sections of railway tracks which comprises a mixture of cylinder stock residuum and an asphalt base residual oil having a specific gravity corresponding to about 12 to 15 Beaum.

3. A lubricating composition suitable for the lubrication of the rails of the curved sections of railway tracks which comprises a mixture of about 60% cylinder stock residuum and 40% of a residual oil derived from an asphalt base crude petroleum.

4. A lubricating composition suitable for the lubrication of the rails of the curved sections of railway tracks which comprises a mixture of cylinder stock residuum and an asphalt base residual oil having a specific gravity corresponding to about 12 to 15 Beaum, the mixture having a viscosity of r about 500 to-600 seconds at 122 F. (Saybolt turol).

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 2nd day of June, 1927.

GEORGE W. GRAY. 

